Providing a case study of instructional organization and evaluation processes in Quebec's "Colleges d'enseignement general et professionnel" (CEGEPs), this report describes the provincial Commission on the Evaluation of Collegiate Teaching and a 1994 evaluation of "Techniques d'education en services de garde" (TESG), or child…

This report analyzes the uses of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B discretionary/set-aside, administrative, and flow-through funds for school reform activities. Telephone interviews were held with state directors of special education or staff from nine state education agencies (California, New Mexico, Iowa, Illinois,…

In 1990 the Kentucky state legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated a total overhaul of the state's kindergarten through grade 12 public school system and was designed to result in equitable education for all students. Accountability components of the KERA include financial incentives for staff in schools where…

Public "schools of choice" refers to a new trend in educational policy that involves various forms of competition and choice. The initiatives of individual states range from authorizing magnet schools to allowing parents to send children to neighboring school districts. What these programs have in common is that parents, as consumers of…

This report describes results of focus group evaluation of the first year of Georgia's CrossRoads program, an alternative public school program to provide chronically disruptive, committed, and/or non-attending students (grades 6-12) with the social services and individualized instruction they require and to make the public schools more secure by…

This guide is designed to provide direction for school districts required to develop their own competency-based education programs in social studies. The ultimate purpose is to enhance the quality of social studies learning in the state of Ohio. The introductory sections, while useful for social studies teachers, also are designed to provide…

Authorized by the California Department of Education, this report provides an analysis of research-based guidelines for the educational applications of technology and information resources and the communication and learning opportunities made possible by telecommunications. The report specifically addresses current state-of-the art technologies…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the problems and issues that emerged as school districts in Pennsylvania tried to implement a strategic planning mandate at the local level. In June 1993, revisions to the Pennsylvania school code changed requirements for graduation from time spent in the classroom to the mastery of 53 state-designated…

What is needed to help children succeed at high levels is already known, and that vision and commitment are essential to bring about reform efforts that research has already established as effective. Conditions that contribute to academic success and well being include nurturing and supportive families, economically and socially healthy…

This manual provides examples of how service learning can be integrated into the curriculum of the high school. The integration of activities can add real-life experiences to the academic curriculum and help create the capacity for students to improve their school and community. The three types of service activities include: (1) direct activities…

The Performance Standards of the Oregon Certificate of Initial Mastery are described and discussed. Performance standards define how well students must perform on classroom and state assessments that lead to Oregon's Certificate of Initial Mastery. Students must complete classroom and state assessments that show what they know and can do in…

Three Pennsylvania universities focused on defining the functional role and identifying the training needs of work-based mentors for Pennsylvania's system of school-to-work transition, in order to design a training protocol. Interviews were conducted with 81 experienced employees concerning their view of the mentoring role and the activities that…

A project described and examined the status of secondary trade and industrial (T&I) education in Virginia and made recommendations to improve such programs. Statewide enrollment data were retrieved for the school years 1986-87 through 1992-93. Questionnaires gathered concerns and recommendations of public school personnel about T&I…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in citizenship. The test is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…

This booklet contains the practice tests for the Sixth-grade Ohio Proficiency Tests. Student work on these practice tests helps the teacher evaluate how well the student understands the subjects of writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. The writing test consists of two writing tasks based on one stimulus passage, and the reading,…